FEATURES
RICH ROBINSON
Back on the Wing
As the co-founder of the Black Crowes preps a new album, we speak with him about the band, its classic sound and style, and the vintage electric and acoustic instruments he has used to record its many hits. By Ward Meeker
AMP-O-RAMA
The Fender Deluxe Reverb
If guitarists were to vote for the one “best amp for all occasions,” this one would very likely earn a majority decision, especially if you’re talking the original 1960s blackface version. By Dave Hunter
THE GIBSON LES PAUL SPECIAL
The “somewhere between Custom and Junior” member of the original Les Paul “family” of guitars was the first to lose the Les Paul name. But that small distinction has not diminished its appeal to players and collectors. By George Gruhn and Walter Carter
CHOCOLATE GODZILLA
Circa 1952, Ted McCarty asked Seth Lover to design a few amps. So he threw a few wires together with some Astrons, put them in pine cabinets, and for this one added the name of the most famous player of the era. Meet the Gibson Les Paul GA-40. By Nathaniel Riverhorse Nakadate
KEVIN GRANTT
Pentecostal to P-Basses
He was bitten by the music bug while watching his grandpa play guitar in church. But it was “Don Kirschner’s Rock Concert” that influenced him to pick up his instrument of choice. By Zac Childs
KAWAI MOONSAULT
By the early 1970s, some of the top guitar people in Japan wanted to create uniquely Japanese guitar designs. They included the Iceman, the “Lucky Cat,” , and this Kawai, which became one of the country’s most popular models. By Michael Wright
BASS SPACE
The Gibson EB-6
It wasn’t the first and may not be the best, but there’s little doubt that when it began shipping in 1960, the oddest production model in Gibsons’s thinline semi-solid series was intended to stand out. By Willie G. Moseley
DEPARTMENTS
Vintage Guitar Price Guide
Builder Profile
Valvetrain Amplifiers
Upcoming Events
Vintage Guitar Classified Ads
Dealer Directory
The Great VG Giveaway ’07
Win a Koch Studiotone worth $2,600!
Readers Gallery
FIRST FRET
Reader Mail
News and Notes
Clapton Crossroads ’07, new McCarty bio, Steve Morse on DVD, Dallas Guitar Show, In Memoriam, more!
Michael Monarch
Corporate Rock, Diverse Tones
By Willie G. Moseley
Al Viola
1919-2007
By Jim Carlton
Jon Rauhouse
Steelin’ Old Sounds
By John Heidt
Ask Zac
By Zac Childs
Mitch Easter Activates
The Let’s Active Leader’s Solo Debut
By Dan Forte
Dave Stryker
Jazz Via Omaha
By John Heidt
Bill Carson
Last of the “Old Guys”
By Willie G. Moseley
CITES Gets An Update
NAMM Issues Warning to Guitar Builders, Players
By George Gruhn
COLUMNS
The (Way) Back Beat
Cool Cats in Big Hats
By Peter S. Kohman
Q&A With George Gruhn
Acousticville
Midwinter Festival Time, Again
By Steven Stone
“401K” Guitars
Shipping Solace
By Gil Hembree
Fretprints
Johnny Smith
By Wolf Marshall
TECH
Guitar Shop
Bridge Repair
By Tony Nobles
Dan’s Guitar Rx
Gold All Over
By Dan Erlewine
Talkin’ Amps With…
Bill Yates: Vintage Amps Under $1,000, Part Four: Silvertone
By David Jung
REVIEWS
The VG Hit List
Zombies, Al DiMeola, Asleep At the Wheel, John5, Flatt & Scruggs, Strange Brew: Eric Clapton and the British Blues Boom, 1965-1970, more!
Check This Action
Surf Steel A’GoGo
By Dan Forte
Vintage Guitar Gear Reviews
Danelectro Pro, Eastwood Airline H44 DLX, Dan Armstrong Sound Modifiers, D’Addario/Planet Waves accessories!
Gearin’ Up!
The latest cool new stuff!